Prison Break: Season 1 Sep01 '06

Another Fox thriller, but not as creative as 24. Prison Break is suspenseful, but very predictable, and the characters are rather dry. Michael Scofield’s intense stare is getting old, I think.

I am, however, enjoying Season 1 on DVD, so far. It’s no HBO, but it’s a fun way to pass the time.

There’s a few things that have stood out to me.

1. Fox managed to make a story about prison inmates as realistic as they could, without the use of profanity - which had to be a major challenge. A story that takes place in a prison, with prisoners as the main characters - you’d think profanity would be used quite often. But on prime-time TV, no way. But it’s still somewhat believable. So kudos to Fox. I guess I am simply used to HBO - shows like Deadwood, where profanity is the right of passage. (I don’t think Al Swearengen ever uttered a single sentence without the F-bomb in it. And I just realized that’s why his name is Swearengen.)
2. The inmate that will be sentenced to death in just a few weeks, Lincoln Burrows, is very calm, considering everything happening at once:
   1. He’s going to be executed in a few weeks time, so he must be extremely nervous.
   2. His brother is in prison with him, planning an escape, and that must make Lincoln anxious, hopeful - to say the least. The last thing he needs at this point is "hope."
   3. The woman (I have yet to figure out her relationship to these guys), Veronica, is working on an actual case to get Lincoln out - and that must give Lincoln more hope - of which he doesn’t need.

   It just seems that there’s too many "variables" floating around in Lincoln’s head - I don’t think he’d be able to remain so calm and collected.

3. The prison warden is an idiot. His character, I mean. A complete bufoon. He only seems effective when taking advice from others. He can’t seem to make a decision on his own. He is a soft man in charge of hard minds, and it’s just not believable. Not to mention he completely overlooks the fact that his "named successor," officer Billick, is completely shady and crooked.

I don’t want to sound pessimistic, because I do like the show. It’s one of those "feasting" shows, where you always want more - and then end always comes so fast. Much like 24.

Categories: Movies , Television

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